36288. check it out. >> that will be great fun. i love those guys. gregg: they are fabulous. that will do it for us. we hope you have a great day. "happening now" begins right now. bye-bye. jon: some serious sabre rattling from iran and it could affect the global economy. good morning to you. i'm joan scott. >> i'm julie banderas in for jenna lee if the u.s. imposes further sanctions, almost 1/5 of oil flows through this vital waterway. jennifer griffin is live from washington. what led to this crisis. >> reporter: we've heard from the iranian leaders threatening to close the straight of horm muse in response if those sanctions against its central bank are in fact carried out of the

all of this coming at a very tense time as the iranian navy carried out 10 days of naval exercises that included warships and drones over this vital waterway. the exercises are being carried out on the eastern side of the straits and down into the gulf of aden and could put them on a collision course with u.s. navy vessels. the straight is 30 miles wide and about 20% of the world's oil passes through there. if the u.s. sanctions again the iran central bank are implemented. julie: what happens if the u.s.? >> reporter: in fact we've seen a rise in oil prices with a threat to close the strait. oil has gone up above $100 a barrel. and essentially if iran's central bank is sank shunned, iran won't be able to sell its 4 million barrels of oil a day on the world market

that will lead to a shortage and a rise in prices. saudi arabia has about two million barrels of excess oil reserves. at the last opec meeting on december 24th said it would bring that production on-line to bring stability but none of this is taking into account iran's threat to close the hormuz straight. the state department is calling the iranian threat a bluster. the u.s. fifth fleet put out a statement saying that it would not allow the straits to be closed. julie. julie: jennifer griffin reporting from the pentagon. thanks so much, jennifer. >> reporter: thank you. julie: we'll learn more about this situation. former u.n. ambassador john bolton will give his take on how exactly we should respond to this threat. jon: well, with just six days to go till the iowa caucuses newt gingrich is criticizing ron paul, the new frontrunner in the iowa polls. the former house speaker calling congressman paul worse than president obama. chris wallace, the anchor of "fox news sunday", joins us from washington.

i guess it is natural to go after the frontrunner but does it surprise you the, i guess the aggressiveness which with newt gingrich is going after ron paul? >> yes, it does surprise me and again because it has gotten so personal. at one point in an interview yesterday he said that ron paul's views are outside the mainstream of virtually every decent american. you know that is sort of saying you're un-american or indecent if you support ron paul, which i don't think is going to win over a lot of his supporters. clearly there are a couple of things going on here. one is that newt gingrich is fading, if you believe the polls. in fact i think it is fair to say, according to the "real clear politics" average of all the recent polls he is no longer a top tier candidate. romney and paul are in the 20s. paul leading as you say by a couple points. gingrich is about 13, 14%. is in fact closer to michele

bachmann and rec perry than he is to the front-runners. he is clearly feeling the sting of fading. and the only question i have is why he would go after paul supporters who seem to be awfully dedicated to him. i don't think it is a surprise to them that paul has a particular set of views, libertarian views, both on domestic issues and on foreign policy. and i'm not sure that they're going to be a lot of crossover from paul to gingrich. seem to me would have better luck going after romney supporters or as i say that second-tier of santorum of perry and bachmann. jon: the response from the paul campaign was equally strong. his campaign manager, ron paul's campaign manager, called it, a childish outburst and that newt gingrich is a divisive big government liberal who is unelectable. what about newt gingrich policy of hands off his fellow republicans and going after president obama? >> that's exactly what you

thought about comments about ron paul. it is gingrich talking about relentlessly positive. he will attack the others he will live by ronald reagan's 11th commandment, you shall not speak ill of a another republican. he doesn't seem to be able to control himself. last week romney. in this week in the most personal bitter terms going after ron paul. for a guy who says i've learned and learned to discipline myself and that is the rap against him, maybe he hasn't, to keep falling off the wagon doesn't seem to be very pervasive. jon: when asked in that interview if he could vote for ron paul, president obama and ron paul, gingrich says you would have a difficult choice at that point. is all this the reason the president's numbers are on the upswing? >> yeah i'm not so sure it is republican infighting in the 2012 race. i think a lot of republican infighting here in congress when you saw a split among

republicans when it came to the payroll tax. seems like there was a split between the establishment, the leadership if you will and the tea party republicans. i think that has helped the president but clearly, you know, the i don't know. you know, i have to say i'm going to take back what i was about to say because i don't think the fighting that has gone on inside the republican field than it has been in the past. i don't see any huge splits here. and whoever the nominee is, i think he will be very effective counter to obama and there is plenty that the republicans agree on and. there really aren't any huge policy differences and there is a lot they disagree on. why interestingly enough gingrich's comments are sort of over the line because if there's one thing all republicans agree on, that they want to beat phillip palmer in 2012. jon: you've got ron paul booked for this sunday on "fox news sunday", right? >> we actually have three of the candidates. we'll be live in des moines. we'll have ron paul and rick

perry and michele bachmann all live on "fox news sunday". plenty to talk to them about. only wednesday. who knows what we'll have to talk to them about sunday, jon. jon: be interesting to see if he has anything to say about newt gingrich. >> i suspect he will. jon: i suspect he will too. chris wallace. we'll be watching. i bet it will be an interesting show. thanks, chris. >> you bet. julie: governor rick perry file as lawsuit against the state of virginia. he is challenging his exclusion from the republican primary ballot there but he is not the only gop presidential candidate whose name will not be appearing on the ballot. doug mckelway is follow following the story live from washington. doug, how is this lawsuit likely to be received in the commonwealth of virginia? >> reporter: julie the proof will be how the federal court rules on this lawsuit. some suggest this may backfire. not as if this rule requiring 10,000 signatures to get on ballot in virginia

is anything knew. few well know the landscape as well as university of virginia political scientist, larry sabato. >> etf lived here my life and we have had these rules forever. they were passed and updated in 1982. it is not a surprise you have to get these many signatures and have to be geographically distributed. gingrich lives here. gingrich and perry are the can southern candidates in the field. for them to the not take the time and effort to qualify for the ballot is major trike against them. >> reporter: sabato says you have to get 400 signatures from each of virginia's 11 congressional districts. in other words it takes a lot of time and organization to do it. julie. julie: that goes to the heart of mitt romney's criticism of gingrich's organization, doesn't it. >> reporter: you referred to romney's remarks of gingrich's failure to get on

the ballot was akin to the lucille ball in the chocolate factory. so lacks the organizational abilities in an important swing state like virginia is liability as we're now seeing. it is especially true for gingrich because the december 21st "quinnipiac poll" placed him as the frontrunner in virginia yet he can not run there. julie? julie: doug mckelway, thank you so much. live from washington. jon: north korea's late dear leader, kim jong-il, is laid to rest. tens of thousands of mourners lining snowy streets there hoping for a glimpse of the black hearse escorted by his son and successor kim jong-un. greg palkot is streaming live from seoul, south korea. he has the latest on the dear leader's funeral. greg? >> reporter: hey, jon. yeah it was incredibly choreographed scene. no foreign media. no foreign delegations allowed. so we watched from our perch here in seoul, south korea,

about 120 miles south of pyongyang that funeral procession contained hires of containing the bod i did i of late north korean dictator kim jong-il. a vehicle carrying oversized portrait of him. another vehicle carrying his namesake flowers on full display. the kind of thing we've been seeing for days now, this public grieving. on display the successor to kim jong-il, the sown, kim jong-un and along flanking him as he walked alongside the hearse, military and civilian officials who analysts tell us could very well be pulling the strings in a future regime there in north korea. now meanwhile down here in south korea they of course were watching very closely and a bit alarmed at the emphasis on military in this day. of course this country has seen a lot of clashes, a lot of war with south korea and that emphasis on the military, sort of an overhang from the kim jong-il regime which put the

military first and may be an indicator where his son might be heading as well. we talked to some folks down here in south korea who are watching the funeral today and got their reaction, their analysis. take a listen. >> translator: i'm worried about the future because kim jong is very young and that could be a big problem. >> translator: most of the younger generation believes it as good thing. >> translator: regarding north korea if the south doesn't set a good policy direction its security could be threatened. >> reporter: mixed messages jon and concerned messages for sure and it is not over we'll get a few hours of ceremony tomorrow friday, in north korea, yet another ceremony marking the memorial, perhaps the end of the mourning period for kim jong-il. back to you. jon: the memorial period that goes on and on, 11 days. thanks very much, greg palkot. julie: well iran flexing its muscle against the strategic

waterway. the latest threats from tehran. what it could mean for the world's oil supply. new reaction from the u.s. navy when ambassador john bolton joins us coming up. a brutal brawl at america's biggest shopping mall prompting police to step up security in a big way. we'll show you what happened. we're answering your questions on the best tips for finding a job. rick is at the web wall. hey, rick. >> we have an expert coming up whose jobs it is to help people find jobs. so we're inviting you to send him your questions. go to the "happening now" homepage at foxnews.com. log into the america's asking tab. that is your chat room. here are some questions that are coming in. they have to do with salary and the unemployment rate. a couple questions about jon's tie. send us your question about finding a job. we've got the advice coming up straight ahead and we'll have more "happening now" after a quick break. don't go away.

julie: right now police are

stepping up security at minnesota's mall of america after a massive fight broke out monday ending in 10 arrests. rick folbaum has the story. >> julie they of more security because they do not want a repeat performance what happened monday. we have more in the newsroom and we've got it here for you. you can see police and mall security officers, their weapons drawn making their way through different parts of the building there, responding to a massive disturbance that involved more than 200 young people. a fight involving a group of them began in the food court area and then spread to other parts of the mall. we're told that it took about an hour to get the situation under control. in the end as you mentioned, julie, 10 people arrested and apparently the police are looking for more people who may have been involved. no shortage of surveillance cameras with all of those stores and shops in what is the largest mall in the united states of america. so the police have a lot of video to comb through and take a look at and again, as you mentioned, more security

at mall of america outside of minimal -- minneapolis, minnesota. back to you. julie: rick, thank you so much. jon? jon: iran delivers a sharp threat in response to tough proposed new sanctions from washington. tehran is threatening to block all oil shipments that pass through the strait of hormuz. it's a vital, narrow artery that handles almost 1/5 of the world's crude oil every day. new reaction from the u.s. navy's fifth fleet saying disruption of this waterway will not be tolerated. joining us now to give us his take on what iran is doing, former u.n. ambassador john bolton. they are in this posture because the u.s. is threatening them with even tougher economic sanctions, correct, ambassador? >> right. but i think you have to take this latest threat in the context of the increased tensions over their nuclear weapons programs and the speculation which has been growing that israel might take military action against

that program. right now the iranian navy is exercising around the straights of hormuz and i think they're trying to ratchet up the impression that they're prepared to do almost anything militarily to protect themselves. i think in this case as well they're trying to intimidate the obama administration and many european countries that don't want to see those sanctions increased. jon: well the u.s. navy's fifth fleet has answered as i said saying that any closure of the strait of hormuz will not be tolerated. the fifth fleet could essentially sink the entire iranian navy if it wanted to, right? >> yeah. i've had many conversations with military officials here in this country over the years and it's not bluster and it's not boast. it's a fact if the iranians tried to block the straits of hormuz it would be a matter of two or three days at the most before the straits were reopened. the damage caused to iran would not just be to its

navy which would be on the bottom of the sea but to a lot of land-based air and air defense mechanisms, radars and the like they would also be in jeopardy of losing. jon: so you think they're bluffing? >> i think in part they're trying to increase the perception in europe and in some circles of the white house here that there would be a military confrontation. to try to reduce both the threat of sanctions and the risk of military action against their nuclear weapons program, yes. jon: but if i'm in the pentagon or if i'm advising the president and i'm presented with two scenarios, one, try to go after those hardened nuclear facilities that we know exist but they are very deep underground, or, potentially take out their entire navy with one swoop and maybe some anti-aircraft and military facilities alongwith it i think i would opt for option two. >> i would opt for both options but i think it's important, i think it's

important to understand that those nuclear facilities that we know of in natanz in iraq are not so deeply buried they're not very vulnerable. certainly to us but even vulnerable to the israelis as well. that i think is what is most acute in iran's thoughts. jon: let me turn your attention to the funeral of kim jong-il. it seems to finally be wrapping up. there have been a lot of questions as to whether or not he really is going to control the so-called hermit kingdom. have you seen any signs of disloyalty or any cracks? >> i'd have to say not at the moment. i think it is going according to the script and i don't think that is terribly surprising but i would just underline how little we really know what is going on beneath the surface. while it looks smooth and community and transition from the pictures we're seeing we just don't have any idea really what power struggles may already be underway or how quickly they will play out. obviously it is something we have to watch very carefully

but i just urge we shouldn't be deceived by the pictures that obviously they have rehearsed for quite some time. jon: well, what should the u.s. state department, what should the administration be doing? anything right now to try to reach out and, and, you know, reach out i guess to north korea? >> yeah, there isn't anything to reach out to. this regime is fundamentally not going to make any changes whether we're open to them or not. i think the bigger question is what we're doing with china to prepare for the possibility of regime collapse in north korea and looking to what our objective should be. as hard as might be to achieve our objective should be what we sought since 1945 which is to reunionfy the korean peninsula. jon: that is something they don't want. >> parts of the chinese leadership don't want it absolutely but i think there is especially among the younger chinese leaders clear awareness what a ugly

piece of baggage north korea is. these are the leaders we should appealing to. may take some time but that should be our objectives. jon: ambassador john bolton. always love your descriptions. >> thank you. happy new year, happy new year. julie: a baby-sitter accused brutally murdering a 9-year-old girl and what this man did and the who are risk charges he is facing straight ahead. plus it is not too late to lower your taxes. new information to tell you about. homeowners and renters can actually lower the tab to uncle sam. great news. find out about it next.

julie: right now new info in some crime stories we're keeping an eye on for you here. a family friend and baby-sitter charged with the murder of 9-year-old alley

aunl that lemon. michael plumadore, reporting confessing and brutally beating and killing the girl and dismembering her body. a judge holding her without bond. a 35-year-old arizona woman under arrest accused of running over her estranged husband with her jeep because he was cheating on her. he only suffered minor injuries. a 12-year-old boy called police when three burglars broke into his home. he stayed in a closet and and talked with 911 dispatchers until police arrived. the suspects were arrested. jon: there is still come good news for both homeowners and even renters. last minute financial moves you can make in 2011 that will lessen the sting a little bit. joining us live, fox business network's charles payne. just a few days left in this

year to do last minute tax planning. >> absolutely. one of my favorites for homeowners, take the january mortgage payment to include it now. include the interest and deduction with your 2011 taxes. that is good way. you will pay in a couple weeks anyway. pay it now. jon: if you've got the money. >> if you've got the money. most of these will be contingent having the money. jon: if you have a home too. >> if you have got a home. for homeowners a lot of programs out there if you get energy efficient windows. if you buy solar panels. if you buy the right home heating system, right air-conditioning system. those type of things you want to take advantage of. if you buy air conditioner next six months or year might as well do it now, maybe you can write a whole lot or maybe all of it off to uncle sam. jon: the third tip applies to homeowners and renters as well. if you have furniture, old cars, really i guess even clothing and you donate that stuff to goodwill or some other agency it can be a tax writeoff.

>> absolutely. we're going into the new year. go through the house and look at all the things you really know you don't want. that old sofa, that old car. write it off against your taxes. you're right, everyone can take advantage of that. jon: obviously these are things you can do every year. anything else that comes to mind for 2011? >> we have high unemployment rate. a lot of people lost their jobs the last couple years and started their own business. a lot of special programs. if you have a small business, started something at home, buy a computer if you don't have one. most part you would write off typically what you write off over series of years you can write the entire thing off right now. might be a good excuse to buy a new computer anyway. do it right now. if you're starting a new business, need a computer and never going to be cheaper than it will be right now with those accelerated writeoffs. jon: good tips right there. charles payne, fox business network. happy new year. >> same to you. jon: julie? julie: new developments in syria. reports of more violence as

syria's government releases hundreds of political prisoners. a live report from the middle east is next. plus new fallout after a security breach at one of the nation's busiest airports. what the tsa is doing to prevent a similar problem in the future. >> announcer: if you think identity theft is scary, just wait until you try to fix it. >> 58 different individuals are using... absolutely, using my old social security number. >> announcer: identity theft has topped the federal government's

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is live in the fox weather center with details. hi, maria. >> good morning, julie. good to see you. we're talking about strong winds impacted the northeast last night with the storm system that is now starting to move into canada. look at some of the wind gusts recorded yesterday. most of these were recorded between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. last night. 63 miles per hour recording in new haven, connecticut. long island, almost 60 miles per hour. at laguardia we saw wind gusts up to almost 48 miles per hour. these winds causes big-time travel delays. delays of several hours were reported across the northeast airport hubs. most of the storm system has already exited the region. on the backside you notice we have cold air moving across the lakes. that means lake-effect snow in upstate new york and upper pennsylvania. most of the precipitation in western pa is over with. you will see a few more flurries. in upstate new york six inches could be possible

basically by the end of the work week. across the west we have unsettled weather. that is actually good news. from seattle down through portland we haven't seen a lot of rainfall this season. particularly we get a lot of rainfall this is very beneficial for them. snow at times a foot across the northern rockies and across the cascades. as far as the rainfall goes next 48 hours could be two, three, up to four inches of rain. take it easy if you're doing driving in the passes and also because of the snow and along i-5 because of the rainfall. here is a look at your winner weather advisory because of the lake-effect snow across interior portions of the northeast. generally speaking three to six inches of rainfall. as far as high temperatures go today, look at the northeast. 44 will be the high today in new york city and 45 across portions of new england. tomorrow a lot cooler. julie, you will have to take the jackets out. 38 in new york city and in the single digits across new england. julie: maria molina thank you so much. bundle up i guess.

jon. jon: yeah. let's get to the crisis in syria. reports of a ambush that killed four soldiers and injuring 12 others. this as state-run media says the government released 755 prisoners detained after the regime's crackdown over the past nine months. leland vittert is live in jerusalem with more for us. leland? >> reporter: jon, the latest numbers say there was additional six people killed. to would be anti-government demonstrators killed by syrian troops. while the arab league observers are there the violence is far from over inside that country. today mass demonstrations in the towns of hama and also the towns of homs. those are demonstrations against president bashar assad saying they want him out of the country that is unusual. we'll see these big demonstration videos for a long time. it wasn't safe for activists to get out on the streets. they faced artillery shelling until the arab

servers showed up. seems like the syrian president is handling people with a little bit of kid gloves. you can see on street level they're using tear gas against a number of demonstrators. this is big departure from shooting demonstrators which is what they use to do with all weapons fire. while the observers are on the ground, there will be about 500 of them, we're already hearing reports they have government minders around them. a number of residents are very, very loathe to try and tell anybody what actually has happened over the past few months. we're also hearing that the minders are keeping the arab league observers from going to different parts of the country and severely limiting their access. that's what happened when the human rights watch observers complained that about 800 syrian prisoners who were political detainees had been moved into secret military bases and therefore couldn't be accounted for. that is it when the syrian government released 800 prisoners today. though it is still not

nearly enough for the syrian people. a number of people have been telling reuters inside that country and the associated press they still feel very, very much in fear for their lives. the tanks left a couple days ago. they say just as easily the government could kick the observers out, bring the tanks back and we're right back where we were a couple days ago where entire neighborhoods were being shelled, jon. jon: a awful situation. let's hope the observers can bring peace to that place. leland vittert from jerusalem. thank you. julie: fallout after a security breach at one of the busiest airports in the country. last week two checked bags were not properly screened at newark liberty international airport. that forced the national security transportation administration, or tsa to unload and rescreen all the baggage on two international flights. action against the officer responsible is probable. david lee miller. what happened exactly. >> reporter: the officer has now been suspended julie.

as for what took place we should clearly state at no time did any aircraft take off with luggage that had not been properly screened but here is how events unfolded. this happened last thursday. two bags did go through a screening machine that triggered an alarm suggesting that those two bags required further screening. the suspended worker failed to do so and the bags were being processed, they were en route to be being loaded on the aircraft. another tsa officer noticed the security lapse and reported it before the bags were placed on any aircraft. all the luggage on the two flights was taken off and rescreened. the aircraft we were told not delayed. tsa issued a statement to fox news. it says the safety of the traveling public is tsa's top priority. we hold our employees to the height highest professional standards and take appropriate action when necessary. the individual in question is no longer performing screening duties and appropriate action is being taken. we do know that the tsa employee has now been suspended. there is the possibility of

further action against him, possibly the loss of the individual's job. he has been with the tsa we are told since 2002. julie. julie: david lee miller, thank you very much. jon? jon: well despite some lapses here and there, it turns out air travel has never been safer. in fact 2011 is the safest year on record for commercial flights. just one death for every 7.1 million passengers around the world. shibani joshi with more. >> hi, there, jon. you may be packed in planes like sardines and you may have to pay for pillows and blankets but at least you get to your destination safely. 2011 on track to become the best and safest year for commercial airline traffic on record. that according to the iata as well as assend which are both reporting this year so far we've seen one passenger per 7.1 million air travelers. that bests the previous record we had that was set back in 2004 where we saw

one passenger death for every 6.4 million air travelers. we could also end the year with the lowest total number of passenger deaths overall. so far this year we've seen 401 passenger deaths to date. this is despite an increase in the number of airline flights that have taken off and an increase in the number of overall airline passengers. so overall traffic is up, safety is up. a good trend. jon: yeah, so why the increase in the safety statistics? >> well there are a number of factors you can thank but most recently you can thank the intervention or the incorporation of technology. we have bet every data. we have more information and we have better ways in technology in which to use both of those things. we're also seeing airlines come up with better airline man nance policies. better training for personnel. better airline checks overall. just better procedures and that's the reason we're seeing more successful and safer airline travel system in 2011. never mind the delays and

sort of the hassles and headaches. we take what we can get. safety obviously number one. jon: yep. that is the most important thing. shibani joshi from fox business network. thank you. >> thanks. julie: a scary zoo at a scare at a zoo in australia. crocodile taking out his frustrations against unsuspecting zookeepers. the video is next. what questions do you have about finding a job? rick is at the web wall. >> our next guest will help people find jobs and he will answer your questions. some of the questions you're sending in, very interesting. advice for someone never hired, 34 years old, college degree, looking for a job. other questions for folks out of the job market and they're looking to get back in. a stay-at-home dad who has been a military spouse. his wife has been serving overseas. she is now back and he wants to go back to work. what should he do? we'll have the answers to your questions when "happening now" returns right after a quick break.

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jon: right now, new info on some stories we're watching around the world all from inside our control room. china says design flaws and poor oversight are to blame for a deadly bullet train crash that killed 40 people there earlier this year. 54 government officials have been dismissed from the communist party. they could also face criminal corruption charges. in australia a crocodile with a taste for lawn mowers. maybe he just didn't like the noise. the 16 footer named elvis charged at zoo workers before snatching the mower and dragging it into its pool to drown. none of the workers was hurt but elvis lost a few teeth. fast-moving mudflows from a volcano killing at least four people in indonesia. at least 1,000 people fleeing their homes as debris from the ear are up shun destroyed buildings and roads. julie: america is asking sending in questions about

how to find jobs. here now to answer them, john challenger is the ceo of challenger, gray & christmas the oldest executive outplacment firm in the u.s. john, thank you so much. we have so many questions for you. we'll get to them in a moment. but first, tell us what is the majority of calls you're actually getting for those who are sitting on the unemployment bench right now wondering how to get back on the hiring lines? >> we're getting a lot of calls from people been out a long time, six months, a year or longer and struggling to try to explain to employers why they haven't been at work, how to explain what their skills are in a way that makes sense. we've seen people who have been focused on, you know, should i try to do something new? go back to school? change to a new industry? just solve this kind of frustrating problem of not being able to find a job i want. julie: you know, that's a great point. we have a comment from swamp

angel who wrote into "happening now" and says i am 52 and haven't worked in 10 years. my resume' is outdated and a lot of my work references do not exist anymore. help. >> well, someone like this has to focus on what has he done in the last 10 years? might be volunteer work. it might be maybe a project work of some kind. if there is absolutely no work and that kind of experience he had before, say, 10 years before, is no longer current, maybe he has to go back and start something new? maybe it is going to a local community college, finding out what employers in his area are really looking for and going out and getting certified in a particular area to get himself back in with some marketable skills. julie: so make new references that is great advice. despite the unemployment rate falling to its lowest level since march of 2009 the recovery has a long way to go with more than 13 million americans out of work, another 6.6 million have abandoned the job search but they still want a

job. and nearly 5.7 million who have been unemployed for six months or longer. do you expect the job market to improve in 2012? >> i do. we have seen a number of positive signs lately. we saw unemployment drop from 9% down to 8.of last month t has been above nine almost the entire year of 2011. we've seen the jobless claims numbers start to drop. downsizing has been relatively light. let's hope that the private sector particularly, small businesses, medium size businesses driving a lot of the job growth let's hope we're not in three steps forward and we have another pullback like we have seen and that this momentum we've got now will continue. it certainly looks that way. julie: it is interesting. you mentioned the private sector. i have a viewer, rose marie, she says i have been in the nonprofit sector for many years serving as a executive director. i have no benefit. i'm curious how to make the change to get into a

different field? i have lived anywhere and the oil business is booming. i am wanting to get into public external relations. any suggestions? >> well, julie this woman does have skills that are marketable, even though she has been working in a nonprofit, doesn't mean you have to stay in the exact same industry or area you've been in before. you could have been working say as an accountant in the manufacturing business and go out to be an accountant in the health care business. in her case she has been dealing with external affairs, government relations. she has been, you know, in the middle between going say, out to donors and asking for funds and supporting the nonprofits she has worked at. she has probably run the operation as the executive director. she has to look at, well, the actual accomplishments. she has developed and go out to explain to other employers how they might fit in. julie: a little typo in her e-mail. i was clarifying she lives in an area where the oil

business is booming. let me ask you. this is an interesting one. many are military personnel who sacrificed. they come back into this country. there are tax incentives for many businesses who hire these people but still yet these people can not get jobs, much like the rest of the unemployed. tim writes, my wife is currently deployed to afghanistan. i stay home with my two young children. i've been working on my mph, masters in public health and looking for an opportunity to return to a related career when my wife returns. as a military spouse that has been put his career on hold for over three years now while our family has moved around the world, how do i attract potential employers with such a great gap in my employment history? this seems to be the problem with so many people. the main problem, when you're out of work for so long, how do you get back in? >> well it is almost like you have to say to an employer, i know what it's like to be unemployed and i don't like it. instead of letting that be a negative, you don't have any

current experience, instead prove to them that you want to be there so bad you know what it is like to not have a job and you will show them that you are reliable, you can be depended upon. you will work harder to hold onto that job than anybody you would compete against. in this case, he has a strong, health background with his masters he is getting. so go out to hospitals. to health care professionals, to others and begin joining organizations where you can network in to meet people in the industry will be a crucial way. once they get settled in a particular location as his wife comes back, in that area, where he can meet people in the business and will really help him find that job. julie: i wish we had a whole hour for this. let's rifle through them. your resume' has to be perfect. you have one chance to make a lasting impression. you need to know how to interview. your interview skills are key. for those just entering the workforce i have a college student that wrote, this is from kelly. i'm a college student trying to get a job in ad tiesing

graphic design. basically she is asking where in the u.s. should i look for a job? i would like to be hired before i graduate. why don't you tell us. what industries are highering? >> some of the strongest industries are health care. continues to create jobs. julie: nursing? >> yeah, very strong area. business and professional services have seen a lost hiring. if she is looking at advertising and marketing maybe she can go to some of her professors and alumni network right now in the city she wants to go live in, once she graduates and start to meet people, say over the holiday break, in that business, go out and explore. often alumni will help others who have been there before them. julie: absolutely. you spent all the money on college. you better take advantage of your professors. that's a great point. john challenge a ger, ceo of challenger, gray & christmas, thanks so much for excellent advice. >> thank you. julie: jon. jon: good advice. we hope it helps some of our viewers who could use the work. julie: absolutely. jon: how does your emotional

relationship with your child affect their overall health? is could after more than you think. surprising results after brand new study

jon: hear "auld lang syne" in the air? fox news channel is gearing up for our annual new year's eve bash. we want you to be part of it. rick folbaum joins us with details how you can. >> the ticker on the bottom of the screen is called the scroll. we're handing it over to you for our special hosted by bill hemmer and megyn kelly. we're inviting you to send your text, your new year's greeting. send them to us by texting 36288 is the number. you go utext and your greeting and the number to

tex it to is 36288. send it along and it will appear on the bottom of the screen during the program from 11 to 12:0 eastern time. megyn and bill right in the heart of times square where all the action is. you can have your greeting on the screen. back over to you guys. jon: sounds good. rick folbaum. thanks. julie: the doctor is in and you're relationship with your mother even in the very early years could have a major impact on your weight. a brand new study finds that kids who had poor emotional relationships with their moms as far back as toddler hood, before age 4, in fact, were twice as likely to become obese later in life. the doctor is with us. she is with the university of maryland school of medicine. dr. thanks for coming in to talk to me. how is it researchers are correlating first of all a person's weight in adult years with what sort of emotional relationship you

had with your money before age of 4? >> this study looked at a early childhood development study and it sort of corroborated earlier studies that showed kids with poor mother parenting and attachment were obese at 4. they followed this out. they rated maternal relationships. they found about a quarter of the kids in this study had a relationship where the mother didn't make them feel secure, didn't understand their emotional state or their emotional stress. then when they followed them out, at 15, they thought they were twice as likely to be obese as kids that were able, that had the best ha ternnal relationships. julie: it is interesting because we talk about come father foods of adults whenever those of us constantly struggling with all the different diets. whenever we're depressed we tend to go for bad types of food. >> right. julie: that psychological mentality begins at a very early age apparently? >> what they speculated and it is speculation, the limbic system which deals with stress, sleep and wake

cycles and hunger and thirst that that is not developing properly. it is eating to satisfy your stress. anyone that watches these shows like the biggest loser knows that is part of this emotional eating. so that is part of it. julie: is there any way to reverse it? let's say someone is at home watching and thinking maybe i didn't give my child enough emotional security and i suppose, my child is out of his or her toddler years. can you make up for all that lost time? >> right. and julie, that is part of it. i understand. you think about it there have been bad parenting forever. julie: no parent is perfect. >> right. exactly. i don't want mothers to start, one more thing we get to feel guilty about our child being obese. julie: but parents are often blamed for their children being obese. that's a fact. >> it is true but think about it there has been bad parenting for years around the obesity problem is really last 20 or 25 years. i don't want to take away some of the personal responsibility but certainly

well-adjusted people don't have emotional issues where they eat. if you notice that about your child, don't blame yourself. there are things you can do. parents, follow suit. get up. exercise, eat healthy. all those things. you can reverse it at later stage. obviously want to have the best relationship we do with our kids. julie: talking about the relationship with their mothers, does it affect both parents, yes or no? >> the older study where they were obese at four it was both parents but this was specifically maternal relationships. julie: doctor, thanks so much for coming in. >> my pleasure. >> jon? jon: julie on the road in iowa just days before the all-important caucuses there and we're blazing the trail with the frontrunner there. who is that? we're live with the story. and some new information on the cause of that deadly fire in connecticut. the mistakes that led to a christmas tragedy, next ♪

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jon: a growing arsenal of deadly drones expanding rapidly under the obama administration, secret eyes up in the skies targeting terror suspects for death. there are new questions about the growing blind spot in civilian control over that lethal campaign. pwaoeupl jon scott. julie: i'm julie banderas in for jenna lee. an investigation by "the washington post" actually shows these covert operations that rely on increased cooperation between the military and the cia. incredible findings with press directly involved in guiding the policy, but the high level of secrecy and conflicting rules is making it almost impossible for congress to keep track of all the kill programs, they are

called. peter brooks is a former cia officer, he served as a deputy secretary of defense in the bush administration. thanks so much for talking to us. >> good to be with us. julie: the article says that no president has ever relied so extensively on the secret killing of individuals to advance the nation's security goals. in just three years the obama administration has built an extensive apparatus to use these drones to carry out targeted killings of suspected terrorists. would you consider obama's mission successful? >> he certainly has used it. it's basically a continuation of what the bush administration used against terrorists. it's been very effective. it's an important tool for intelligence collection. not all drones are armed drones, and also for killing terrorists. it's done a good job at getting at al-qaida leadership. it helped to bring down osama bin laden, although we needed to use special operation forces for that particular operation. it is very important, and i'm not quite sure that congress is unhappy with the results.

this article seems to think that there is, but we are not hearing congress talking much about it. it is a very sensitive subject, but congress is not afraid to speak out on these sort of issues. julie: yes, make no mistake about it, obama's secret drones have proved successful. they actually helped lead to osama bin laden, which ultimately led to his death. it also helped locate anwar al-awlaki in yemen this fall using surveillance. then he was killed in a missile strike carried out by the cia which was a highly coreographed procedure that involved four drones. had it not been for the secret program its possible the two terrorists would have been alive today, isn't it? >> absolutely, and others as well. it's a very important tool for intelligence operations, for military operations. one of the things we can't forget is we still need very capable military forces. it doesn't replace the air force, it doesn't replace the army, the marine corps or the knave sraoefplt it' navy.

it's a tool that is getting highlights and spotlights right now, which is mine. the fact of the matter is we need a very balanced and capable military force. this is just one tool that the military and our intelligence operatives use to help eupl professor animprove and insure our national security. julie: when obama was sworn into office in 2009, here was a candidate against the iraq war. he came in furiously by leading the nation ca clandestine war. it left over 400 people dead. the number has mourn quadrupled since then. hundreds of people killed, including civilians. of course you have the human rights advocates that are very critical of the drone program. what do you say to them? >> you have to be very careful. you have to have good intelligence, you have to be

judicious about using these drones or any sort of force, especially when civilians are involved. and there are unfortunately, julie, going to be mistakes that are made. we are at war, we have to remember that. we are living in extraordinary times. in some ways this is uncharted territory for the united states since 9/11. it's very unfortunate. we have to be very careful and that is the reason that we have to have congressional oversight, strong congressional oversight of what the department of defense is doing as well as what the cia is doing with these drones. i think that is taking place. could they improve oversight? i'm sure they k and i' can, and i'm sure us talking about it today will lead to greater attention from congress. our sense is that the drones have turned out to be effective in fighting the war on terror, to help protect our troops in iraq and afghanistan. and going after terrorists in places like somalia and yemen which have improved our national security. this is an important tool, it should be used cautiously.

we have to have good intelligence to back up the strikes. once again it is part of modern warfare and modern intelligence operations. julie: let's be clear here that the number casualties certainly pales in comparison to past presidents. its the fact that it is a secret mission and the white house is extremely hush-hush about it i believe that the president has gained a lot of criticism over this. the fact that we don't know much about it. we know there are dozens of secret facilities including two operational hubs on the east coast and bases in at least six countries on new continents. what else should we know, or should we? >> julie, we have to be very careful here. one of the things is that if you put a lot of the things in the public domain, they could put our own troops in harm's way. it could also tip-off the terrorists. we are walking this very fine line within our democracy to make sure people know what they need to know, but at the same time protecting our intelligence sources and methods, and our military operations. that's why we have congress,

people that have clearances, that's why we have a senate arm's services committee, intelligence committees in the house and senate and the appropriations committees to help us look at things that are very sensitive and classified without undermining what we are trying to do for our national security. julie: what people need to know the terrorists don't need to know what our plans are. it should be classified in order to protect our national security. peter brooks, thank you very much. we appreciate you coming on. jon. jon: fox news alert. new poll numbers just out as we head into the 2012 campaign this. is an interesting one. you cannot vote for justices on the supreme court, but whoever wins the presidential race the next time around will also decide who gets to make any new nominations, in fact the nominations himself or herself. how do voters rate the current supreme court? a brand-new poll finds 27%

thinks the court is doing a good job. 5% say it's excellent. take a look at that, 42% give a fair rating. 21% say the court is doing a poor job. independent pollster scott rasmussen is president of rasmussen reports.com. i was intrigued by this report, scott, because as i mentioned you don't vote for the supreme court, but it is a critical part of our daily life. there are a couple of aging members of the supreme court and whoever wins this next election might have the chance to make one, maybe two, maybe more appointments. >> absolutely. on top of that we will see critical issues decided perhaps before the election. the question of the constitutionality of healthcare reform. this does become a big part of the political dialogue. ratings for the supreme court have drif drifted down a few points over the last ten years. we are hearing more and more discussion of the ideological preferences of the judges rather than seeing them as people who

are trying to apply the constitution to particular cases. jon: 42% say the court is doing a fair job. if you were a supreme court justice, and there is no indication that they really care how they come out in these ratings, do you say, okay, 42% say we're fair, that is all right? >> what you see with all of this is okay numbers. this is not a ringing endorsement. people aren't jumping up and down saying we loft supreme court, wlove the supreme court. we trust their wisdom and judgment, but they don't look at it like congress where people say 6% are doing a good job. you have to look it in context as to how the people are looking at the overall political situation in the country. the government was formed according to the declaration of independence to protect individual rights, and most people now believe that the government, the federal government is a threat to those rights. the supreme court suffers because of that. jon: the takings case out of

connecticut or the northeast in which the court eventually said you're private property can be taken away from you by local government if it benefits the local citizens of your community. a lot of people didn't like that kind of a ruling. >> right. we've tracked this over the years, it's important to note people don't hear one ruling and change their opinion of court. there was a gun control ruling that was popular a few years ago. the points went up for a month or so, then returned. right now there is a perception by people, 32% say that the court is too liberal. slightly smaller numbers say it's too conservative. those numbers haven't changed in the last four or five years either. jon: you took a poll on a completely different topic that has raised a fair amount of attention on capitol hill of late. president obama put on holds plans to build this keystone energy pipeline that would bring oil from canada down to the u.s. gulf coast.

you asked people what they think of that and 35% say they strongly favor the construction of the keystone pipeline, 18% some what. opposition is more muted there. 18% somewhat opposed. what does that tell you. >> the people like the idea of the pipeline. they'd like us to find more energy here domestic lee. should point out though, support from the pipeline down a little bit from a month ago. people are paying more attention and it got what happened up in that debate over the payroll tax cut. jon: scott rasmussen. thank you. scott, you've got a new book coming out. >> the people's money, how the american people would balance america's money. it's coming out on amazon.com right now. jon: we'll check it out. julie: six days to go before the first contest in the presidential election. the iowa caucuses of course. texas congressman ron paul,

leading or at least tying for first in the latest hawk-eye state polls. the new frontrunner boasting a formidable ground organization, key to getting his supporters to show up on january 3rd. it will be a frigid outing for those supporters. chief political correspondent carl cameron joins us live from newton, iowa. >> reporter: we are at the iowa speedway where ron paul will be rallying supporters in about an hour and telling them it's time to put the pedal to the metal in the spinal sprint for the caucuses. mr. paul has been leading in a lot of the polls for weeks now. as a consequence he has been under considerable fire for his arrive values. mr. paul was one of the first to go on the air with attack ads. he's added a new one day which will run up to the day beforehand of the caucus. he goes after his rivals collectively as washington insiders, unreliable and incapable of really doing the people's business because of their insider status, listen.

>> the washington machine is strangling our economy. politicians who supported bail outs and mandates, serial hypocrites and flip-floppers can't cleanup the mess. one man stands alone. >> reporter: there is just a sampling of the paul ad. you can tell he's going after many of his rivals not by name but in general and on the campaign trail he does single each one of them out for a variety of criticisms, as do their arrive values counter attacking them. mitt romney today took mr. paul to task suggesting that mr. paul has been okay with the idea of iran obtaining nuclear weapons with all of its threats to the state of israel. newt gingrich has pounded ron paul for a host of his positions over the course of the last several weeks. and rick perry a fellow text and has been on the air and has criticized congressman paul on a host of issue as well, whether it's on foreign policy, the legalization of degrees.

on international policy most of the republican field organization that ron paul is out of step, too isolationist and would make a bad commander and chief. ron paul will make the case for himself in about an hour. fitting that it is alternate the speedway, an is at the finish line and there may be a checkered flag in his future. jon: the emergency evacuation of a southwest airlines flight. the pilot aborting take off after his plane's tires burned up. 130 passengers on board saying it was a very rough ride. all right. we don't apparently have that report to bring you. we had some comments from some of the passengers. we'll try to get to that in just a bit. in the meantime there are new questions about a devastating fire that defendant five people dead on christmas morning, three young children and their grandparents. what investigators say probably caused this deadly tragedy, and

why nobody noticed until it was too late. plus, he was recovering from injuries he suffered fighting in afghanistan, but his homecoming ended in gunfire. now he is fighting for his life. bobby. it's me marty. no way. marty doesn't have a big hole in his head. i got mixed up with some bargain brand cooking spray. look there's this new and improved pam. works 70% better than the bargain brand. why you gotta rub it in, pal? new pam helps you pull it off.

julie: new details on the emergency evacuation of a southwest airlines flight. the pilot aborting take off after his plane's tires exploded. some of the 130 passengers say it was a rough ride. >> we were going pretty fast. there was sort of a popping sound. >> no one knew what was going on. we said, this isn't good. >> we held on and slowed down and stopped. julie: adam housley is live in san francisco with the story. hi, adam. >> reporter: yeah, julie, in fact we now have a second emergency at sacramento with a southwest plane. it happened this morning, just a short time ago a plane hit a bird and returned to the terminal, had to make an emergency landing.

we have two emergency situations at sacramento international airport in less than 12 hours on the same runway with the same airline, southwest. the good news no one injured in the last incident. flight 2287 last night was taking off from sacramento headed towards seattle. as the nose of the plane came up two of the left tires blu blew, causing the pilot to abort the landing. they put foam on the tires, there were no fires. the passengers got to walk off the plane without any incident whatsoever at all. 130 passengers, no injuries. they do say it did shake them up a bit, take a listen. >> it was scary. at first it's like i've been on a lot of airplanes and stuff and you don't expect that to happen for the plain to literally shake back and forth. >> reporter: another passenger said the first thing they were going to do is post this on facebook. obviously these things change in this day and age. the good news with both of these

incidents. the one last night with the fires blew, the one last night where the plane hit a blue, everything went as planned in the emergency department. both plains were able to divert their take off, move away from the runway, everybody was taken off safely. the emergency situation in this and the way the emergency responders got there on time helped with the situation. the pilots and the crew, everything went as planned of course when you're talking about an emergency type situation with a bird and two tires blowing. the important news, nobody injured in the entire incidents. two incidents in two hours on the same runway with the same airline, julie. julie: you wonder, coincidence or bad luck, who knows. jon: flying has never been safer, very safe right now. a moderate democrat from a conservative state saying he will not run for re-election to the u.s. senate. does ben nelson's decision create another opportunity for republicans to take back the senate in 2012? a political expert joins us with

some thoughts. also, heart-breaking nooyi tai details on that deadly fire in connecticut on christmas. how did it happen? >> we are all sadly aware of the horrific affects of a tragic christmas morning fire that took the lives of three children and their grandparents. on behalf of the entire stanford community, for whom i represent, our thoughts and prayers are with the parents, the families, and friends of these people that we lost. i habe a cohd. yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms,

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new info to tell you about in the shooting of a u.s. soldier

at his homecoming party. khr-f police say a suspec california police say the suspect turned himself in as christopher sullivan is on life support. he is now paralyzed from the neck down. we are live from san bernardino, california with the latest. hi there. >> reporter: good afternoon, julie. good afternoon, everyone. standing in front of the san bernardino county superior court building, where later this afternoon the suspect in this case, ryan ray jurado is going t, ruben ray jurado is going to be arraigned on one count of murder. his lawyer says there is more to this case, like jurado needing medical care after he turned himself in. they say it was jurado that was

attacked by a group of men after an argument over football. there was a party in su sullivan's honor. jurado says there were drugs and alcohol in abundance and as he tried to leave the party he was attacked. sullivan said there were no drugs or alcohol and he tried to break up a fight between his younger brother and another person, he was shot twice which paralyzed him from the neck down. sullivan's mother who first said she bore no hatred for jurado changed her mind and says she is happy he is in jail. sullivan is insisted with his breathing by a machine. he is in critical condition. we'll spend it back to you. jon: new details to bring you in the investigation of that deadly

christmas day fire that killed three little girls on their grandparents. connecticut officials saying discarded embers from the family fireplace set that home on fire. it's unclear whether the house had working smoke detectives. rick folbaum as more for us on this. >> reporter: we know of the frantic efforts that were going on inside the house to try to save those children as the flames got more and more intense, the mom, madonna badger, climbing up scaffolding on the outside of the house in an attempt to get to where she believed her daughters were. her father, the girl's grandfather trying to rescue 10-year-old lilly, piling up books by a window sill to give her a way to step up and he hoped out to safety. they both died, the grandfather and granddaughter by that window. and badger's boyfriend who tried to desperately reach the twins. he was able to reach them but flames caused them to get

separated. both girls and their grandmother died by a stairway connecting the second and third floors. the boyfriend is still hospitalized. he and badger were able to get out. he spoke to the "washington post." he says he and badger are going to be okay. he says loved ones are surrounding them with love and support and they are taking care of themselves physically and spiritually. madonna badger is staying with friends and has not spoken publicly. it was smoldering embers from a yule log that were put in a baggy and placed by the side of the house that caused the fire. the home was being renovated, that's why it had the scaffolding, that's why it had no working smoke detectors. jon: so sad on so many levels. rick, thank you. julie: former new mexico governor gary johnson ending his republican presidential campaign. he will instead be running for

the libertarian party nomination. a political development that could have huge consequences for the 2012 election. fred barbash managing editor of the quarterly weekly. now that he's announced his bid for the libertarian party, could that change things. >> i think the state has changed a lot. according to the last census they had a population increase of 13%, that was a large minority population increase. i don't know that his running as a libertarian in a state that isn't particularly inclined as libertarian views is going to affect the presidential race. they only have five electoral votes any way. unless the race was particularly close it wouldn't matter that much. anything can happen. it's a very unpredictable time. julie: you said it, it's very unpredictable especially if you're running for a majority

party. what about throwing your hat in the libertarian ring. we've seen that happen in many different elections. does that change things at all? >> i don't think that matters. i don't think people are going to waste their vote -- they never have. ross perot being the only exception on a third candidate. i don't see a lot of voters, except perhaps cult voters, maybe have ron paul were to run an independent candidacy or something like that i don't see the people throwing away a vote. julie: i think ron paul that would be an interesting turn out. >> yes he has a following. none of these people have ever won a state, therefore they haven't one any electoral votes. julie: the retirement of ben nelson, by retiring did nelson do republicans a favor by deciding not to seek a third

term? >> he did. republicans stand a pretty good chance of taking the senate. i've got to say they stood a pretty good chance before nelson said he was going to retire. remember this guy, this is the corn husban husker kick back guy. he took a terrible beating out there. that had to do with the healthcare vote. when his name comes up that's what people think about, corn hsker kick back. julie: what is that going to mean for the democratic majority in the senate. >> they could lose their majority. the republicans only need a net gain of four votes, julie to take the senate. they could take that. i want to hedge a little bit because senate races, house races heavily influenced by the presidential race, and president obama is picking up a little steam here, he was doing a little better than six months ago, i'd consider that also very

unpredictable. the senate is the one place where you're likely, if there is going to be really big change it's going to be in the senate, julie. julie: thank you so much for your insight, we appreciate it jon. jon: a producer charged in the grizzly murder of his wife at a mexican resort. he's no longer fighting extradition. why? julie: we'll find out what that means. a brawl breaking out at one of christianity's holiest sights, next.

julie: america's election headquarters bringing you the very best political coverage. republican candidates are making the round in iowa gathering support for next week's all-important caucuses but only a small percentage of potential voters actually show up. steve brown is live in iowa. so what about indecideds, steve? do they show up? >> reporter: they do, sometimes. to put it into context, better than two million registered voters here in the state of iowa. 120,000 expected on the republican side. it is a starkly small number and there are folks that do show up not knowing who they might caucus for who are waiting for inspiration.

>> i know what it's like to sit in a pre-sent and be undecided and then listen to your neighborses get up and say i'm for mitt romney and here's i don't. why. i'm for newt gingrich and here's why. i'm for michele bachmann and here's why. >> reporter: the difference between the republican caucus and democratic caucus, republicans get a piece of paper to write a name down. it is sort of a secret ballot. with democrats you have to go into a corner. you have to publicly exclaim. it is more of a secret ballot on the republican side. julie? julie: is that always the case, steve, undecided showing up to make up their mind on the spot? >> reporter: there are those interested in politics and not so interested in caucuses. they're happy to use to sports analogy to read the box score in the paper the next morning. take a listen.

>> there are three or four candidates in the republican party i could easily support. concerned more fiscally than i am socially. personally i'm more fiscal and social conservative. >> reporter: one big factor they always talk about in iowa in terms of turnout is the weather but looks like it will be nice. be honest, this is my fourth caucus this is the nicest weather. we have lows in the 20s as opposed to below zero. looks like there is going to be no precipitation. 120,000 would be a great turnout. that would be a record for the republican party. small number determine as lot in the presidential nomination process. julie: a lot at stake. steve brown. thanks so much. jon: new reaction to the justice department voting a voter identification law in south carolina. critics say it unfairly targets minorities. republicans and some democrats agree verifying a

voter's identity makes a lot of sense. chief correspondent jim angle in washington with more on the ongoing controversy. >> reporter: jon there is simple question dividing the two parties this year's election. should voters have to show and pick ture i.d. to prove who they say they are? >> this is an effort to diminish minorities and poor people's ability in the politics. >> you need identification to get into all federal buildings and most just regular office buildings. you need it to get welfare. you need it to get on an airplane. take the sat. buy liquor, buy cigarettes. it's, sort of ubiquitous and it's crazy to exclude voting from that list of things that you need it for. >> reporter: now the latest controversy is over south carolina's photo i.d. law which you mentioned. the justice department recently blocked that claiming it will make i had harder for minorities and the poor to vote. attorney general holder

exorted people to oppose such efforts days before his department blocked that law, right before christmas. listen. >> call on our political parties to resist the temptation to suppress certain votes in the hopes of attaining electoral success and instead encourage and work with parties to achieve this success by appealing to more voters. >> reporter: nevertheless the supreme court approved the concept of requiring voter i.d.'s to vote by 6-3 margin back in 2005. several states now have them the only reason to block the one in south carolina if it discriminates against those who can not pay for voter i.d. or don't have transportation. the congressman says his state took great care to solve those problems. >> what was said in georgia we will send a van and photographer to a home anybody that say they can't get somewhere and get a picture made and photo i.d. and we will do it. we, i say that, the state of

georgia at the state's cost and the taxpayer's cost, not the individual's cost. >> reporter: analysts say the south carolina law goes even further. nevertheless the obama justice department argues any such efforts are intended only to suppress voting by minorities and the poor. more and more states are passing such laws. in fact, john, mississippi which has a large african-american population held a referendum which 62% of the people voted in favor of photo i.d.'s. jon? jon: wow, 62%. that is pretty incredible. jim angle in washington, thank you. >> reporter: you bet. julie: new developments in the case of an american man accused murdering his wife in mexico. former reality show producer bruce beresford redmond claiming he is innocent. he accepted a judge's order extraditing him to mexico to stand trial where he is accused of killing his wife monica during a family vacation in 2010. ted simon, international law attorney. he joins me now.

first of all can this guy get a fair trial in mexico? >> well he certainly would hope so and i think his counsel as well as he feels that way. you have to understand that extradition is the institutionalized or formal method agreement between countries to try to obtain a person for prosecution in the country where the person is not at that moment. and what happened in this particular case there was a clearly a murder in mexico. mr. per rest ford returned to california and the mexican government issued an extradition warrant. he surrendered to that, was arrested and litigated before a magistrate whether or not there was probable cause or the facts and circumstance that would warrant a prudent person to believe he should be held for trial. that magistrate concluded he should be. there's no appeal from a magistrate order but rather one can file what's called a petition for writ of habeas corpus and he did

that. he litigated that. the district court felt there was adequate evidence. now of course this is not the same thing as a trial. he opted at that point, we can see not to further appeal but rather return to mexico. one can only assume that he feels that this is the quickest way for him to get a resolution that's favorable to himself because he has maintained and consistently maintained he is not guilty. julie: he says quote, he is eager to clear his name despite the evidence authorities say they found which include blood inside and outside their hotel room. his wife's family is surprised he is not fighting extradition to mexico. why waive it at the last minute? what is the strategy you? said he wants to speed things up. there has got to be more. >> of course one can't, as i said this many times, know exactly the thought process of counsel and his client but looking from afar, one could reasonably conclude that an appeal could be very

difficult to obtain a successful and favorable result because as one continues the process of appealing extradition orders and where one has been granted, it gets harder and harder to achieve. so he would remain in custody and have to continue to fight with, you know, small chance of success while compared to the alternative of returning and seeking a resolution hoped for himself would be favorable. i mean you should clarify the evidence in this case is very, very minimal. in fact there, the allegation she was killed in the hotel room yet there was no blood found of the deceased in the hotel room. and the only blood that allegedly was found was through a presumptive test which is not a conclusory test, and that came back to a male, not necessarily the purported defendant. that was in the basin. there was very little physical evidence found. so i think that is significant.

plus either one or both of his children were in the room during this period of time and those, either that child or children have not said anything occurred. there is, you know, again very, very little evidence in the case. julie: all right. ted simon, we appreciate you coming on. thank you so much. >> you're welcome. julie: jon. jon: a mass poisoning at a drug rehabilitation center in mexico. authorities are now investigating whether the drug cartels are behind it. what it tells us about the drug war raging in that country and along our border. could you soon be playing slots or online poker legally from our couch? a new justice department opinion could open the door for all kind of online gambling. ♪ [ male announcer ] you have dreams...

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time drug cartels apparently have gone after drug rehab centers. why do they use them? why do they target them? >> well a couple of reasons. i don't know what they did in this case but sometimes they use it to retaliate against individuals or family and friends who may be in the center. sometimes the center contains individuals that they believe may be informants. so they go after them. even if they don't get the informant these kinds of flamboyant displays of violence are intended to frighten other people from cooperating with authorities. jon: why a drug rehab center? sometimes they have gone in and shot up bars and places like that. why go after a drug rehab center? >> many times the people who are selling drugs locally are also using and end up in a center. many times of course the people who are drug-addicted know people who are selling drugs and they are used for sources of information. or they're affiliated with or have friends on the wrong side of a gang war and they get caught in the middle as

victims because of their relationships. jon: you suggest there may be sort of a per vees kind of good news here because of what this attack might say about recruiting among the drug cartels? >> yeah, the extent which this is linked, we don't know the specifics, to the extent this is linked to people being recruited directly or being used as foot soldiers for these cartels that's a decline in their employee pool. they used to be able to get willing young men quite rapidly and easily. the extent to which in some regions reports of them using people more drug addicted. that has been somewhat common in the united states for low level drug dealers to come from the addicted and to be used because of their addiction but in mexico there has been much higher rates of gang violence and young people who are just ambitious and try to make a life in the criminal realm. if they're having trouble recruiting those individuals, it shows the government may be stronger in those areas. the government has been going after systematically the leadership of these organizations and it has

been slower than anyone would like. it has been frighting to watch. they are making progress. i wish we would do a little more to stand behind them. the president, secretary of state and attorney general should repeatedly say we're with the mexicans and we should be more aggressive in joint operations that are not stupid like "fast and furious". jon: john walters, who served as drug czar under president bush and now at the hudson institute. john, thank you. >> you're welcome. julie: beautiful beaches, many feared would never come back of a the bp oil spill but come back they have and, so have all the tourists in record numbers in fact. why many are saying bp, yes, bp could be the reason for the big turnaround in the gulf. plus a nasty brawl in the oddest of places. at the birthplace of jesus and the culprits, the kind of folks you would least expect next. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years?

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>> hey, everyone, i'm megyn kelly. occupy protesters have big plans for the iowa caucuses. how the gop there is fighting back. the state republican chairman is here live. and the doj rejecting south carolina's attempt to require voters to show photo i.d. when registering to vote saying it disenfranchises african-american voters. will south carolina challenge that move now in court? i will ask the state attorney general when he joins me live. plus a 70-year-old wal-mart cashier punched in the face on christmas eve. a melee at the mall of america and fights and vandalism over nike air jordan 11s. what is going on here when it comes to the christmas rush? we'll have a full investigation and the latest video. see you at the top of the hour. julie: megyn, we'll be tuning in. gamblers could soon have a

new way to make legal bets online thanks to a new ruling by the justice department. wendell goler is live in washington to explain. >> reporter: hi, julie. the justice department says the 1961 wire act which is usually used to ban telephone or online betting only from one state to another only applays to supporting events. the thing that prompted this was illinois's decision to sell lottery tickets on line. some people think the camel nose is in the tent and online poker sites will become legal. the first test will be legalized gambling within a state like nevada that already allows gambling. the state would license sites whose software can determine whether the computer is within the state and the user is over 21. the next step would permit gambling and another state where it is legal like west virginia. the government is struggling to block access to online poker sites based outside the country. john pappas with the poker players alliance says it is better to regulate them.

>> our organization and the millions of americans who do play poker and other games online are really looking at this from a consumer protection standpoint. that should be first and foremost why congress or any state government acts. let's protect consumers. >> reporter: experts say electronic gambling is for addictive than is a keno gambling because it is more convenient. some predict eight or nine million americans could become addicted to online gambling. utah congressman jason chaffetz says it is not worth the revenue. >> solving our financial woes by opening up gambling to every home and being able to tax it. this is not the direction that our nation should be going. i totally disagree with this approach. >> reporter: the revenue is appealing in the economy where teachers are laying off teachers and restricting access to medicaid. besides nevada, iowa and california considering allowing online gambling within the state. julie? julie: wendell goler, thank

you so much. jon: there is stepped up security at america's biggest mall after a brutal brawl is caught on tape but this was not the only case of mall mayhem this weekend. up next a closer look at the violent outbreaks and what cowses them. -- causes them

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rick folbaum with details. >> reporter: what would jesus do? definitely not this. take a lock at these clergymen going at it on the spot where jesus is believed to have been born. it's not the first time it's happened. every year there is an annual cleaning ritual car ride out at the church in bethlehem. it's done before the services in january. the greek orthodox control part of the church, and another orthodox church tolls the other. five yards, off sides, still first down. the local palestinian forces had to break it up and send both sides back to their own territory. greg: what a mess. >> reporter: just three days until new year's eve. any good plans. greg.

jon: i have to start writing new numbe numbers on my check. >> reporter: you've got to tune in to see the cast of the tony award nominated show "rock of ages." send us your new year's greeting to 36288. the fund starts at 11:00pm eastern right here. >> reporter: you live near there, right. >> reporter: yeah, unfortunately. >> reporter: i'll be locking my door. jon: sounds good. thank you for joining us. >> reporter: great to be here. "america live" starts right now with my buddy, megyn. megyn: thanks so much, guys. fox news alert, new reaction right now from the pentagon following iran's threat to try and choke off the world's supply of oil. welcome to